Oddness/Weirdness

Fangirling in Seoul: A Fan Account Written by- Kattack I came home from Seoul a few weeks ago and let me just tell you- O.M.G.SEOUL.IS.AMAZING. I will be writing a nice long post on all my adventures for Oddness/Weirdness in the coming weeks, but in the meantime I wanted to share a little teaser of my trip-  a fancam at a free concert event at the World Class College (WCC) Convention in Samseong-Dong, Seoul! Featuring the amazing Zico from Block B ! *excited bouncing* Not only was it my first fancam, but my first experience being a real "fangirl". Storytime! So, a friend who I met up with in Seoul is immensely talented at finding out what's going down in the K-Pop world around her. She announced that VIXX and Block B would be performing a free concert on the Saturday (VIXX) and Sunday (Block B) of this World Class College Convention, and would I like to go. HELLS YES I WOULD! I'm in Seoul, I'm taking advantage of absolutely every opportunity to get my...

I'm back!   But only kind of today because my first foray back into blogging is a guest post.  Did I hear someone say "But whyyyy??" from here?  Well, I happen to think you'll like this one a lot.  This post is by Kat , Associate Writer extraordinaire for Korea.com , who I met in the comments of this here blog and promptly befriended.  We bonded over SHINee belts... don't ask.  Anyway, Kat is here to give you an in depth view into why we all like Kpop and also to give you a way to explain it to those pesky non-Kpop lovers. Did You Just Ask Why I Love K-Pop? Others: You like K-Pop? What, like that Sigh guy?" Me: Yeah! Others: But I’m so sick of hearing that gang -nam song, such a one-hit wonder. Me: Actually Psy has been a significant figure in the Korean music industry for over 12 years now and he has produced a lot of really fantastic music during that time… Nope, I’ve lost them. I guess it's understandable how people associate K-Pop to ...

Welcome to the last Guest Blogger Week post!  It's been so awesome to host these fabulous women here on Oddness/Weirdness for the past week.  I thank them from the bottom of my heart for taking the time out of their busy schedules to participate, and I hope you enjoyed the posts as I did. This last post is by  nancakes 's Nani and she's written another slightly controversial post, this one about her take on South Korea's beauty standards.  If you haven't read Nani's previous Guest Blogger Week rant about crazy Kpop fans, you can do so by clicking here  and, as always, if you agree or disagree you can sound off in the comments below. The Oh So "Superficial" South Koreans Hello folks of the interwebz. I'm bringing to you an entry that touches upon a topic widely known within the kpop fandoms: beauty ideals (and plastic surgery) - and why looks matter so damn much in the country of oppas and gee gee babies. If you want further an...

I met Julyssa , the author of today's Guest Blogger Week post, in the most random of ways, but I'm very glad I did.  She's got the best stories to tell, and this one is no different.  This post is about how Julyssa got into Kpop and some of the interesting things she's doing with the genre all the way up there in Scandinavia.  Enjoy, and let me know how you got into Kpop and how you spread that Kpop love in the comments below. Follow The K-Pop Brick Road In less than two weeks I am hosting and producing the very first K-pop concert in Scandinavia. VIXX is coming to Sweden for a very historic concert.   It’s a historic moment that pretty much is still very surreal for me. I have so much work to do but I don’t feel like any of this will be real until the concert is over. I am extremely afraid, nervous and terrified but somehow this concert became a dream and it’s time to fulfill it. It’s funny how all of this started. If anyone would’ve told me f...

Day 4 of Guest Blogger Week is here, what what!  Are you ready for today's post?  This one is somewhat of a rant about K-Dramas utilizing the ever so fun "Y U NO" meme.  You'll totally relate to this one if you've ever watched a few dramas and wondered why they do the things they do in every single one .  When you're done reading, be sure to let us know about any K-Drama tropes that really bother you in the comments below! K-Dramas: Y U NO Make Sense? K-dramas. We love to love them, love to hate them and hate to love them, all within one episode. But I can't quit them. Can you?

Day 3 of Guest Blogger Week is here and today we're all about SHINee 's Minho and his fine self.  I've been meaning to do a fashion post about him for the longest time, so I was very happy to get this one in my email.  Behold, an ode to Minho's style: Dibidibidis, My Name is Minho: A Fashion Appreciation Post SHINee , since their debut, has always been prefaced by ‘contemporary’ to their name.  Meant to signify the group’s experimental take on K-Pop, SHINee’s fashion, like their music, always been trendy and attention grabbing. But what about when they’re not onstage?  Self-professed fashion lover Key is the most prominent style-wise, taking selfies with House of Holland designer HenryHolland and chilling with Carri Munden of Cassette Playa . Conversely, as arguably the most publicly recognized face in SHINee, Minho ’s fashion sense has been overlooked. Which is interesting but understandable: where are your eyes going to linger in this ...

Day 2 of Guest Blogger Week is upon us and today we're talking about K-Dramas and men in aprons....  Doesn't seem like you'd be able to write a whole post about that topic, does it?  Well you would be wrong!  Funny how I kind of noticed the preponderance of men wearing aprons in k-dramas before, but after reading this I'm having a lightbulb moment.  They are EVERYWHERE!  It's a thing!  Check it out: K-Drama Trope Du Jour: Men In Aprons

It's the first day of Guest Blogger Week on Oddness/Weirdness and, like last time, I want to start out with a bang.  This post is from Moni , writer and owner of the blog Frock Yeah , and it's about something near and dear to my heart: Kpop fashion.  Enjoy! Swag Check, Mic Check: How Fashion Keeps Your Oppas and Unnies at the Top I’ve heard lots of stories about how people got into k-pop: learning about Korean music through Gangnam Style , flipping through the international TV channels at 4 am, even *cough* someone forwarding a video of Taeyang humping the stage in all white *cough* Full disclosure: that last one is definitely what happened to me, but it’s not why I jumped feet first into the fandom and stayed. Actually, it was the styling that got me. After drooling over Taeyang, I happened to see Girls’ Generation ’s video for “ Gee ”. I’m not usually a fan of music that leans on the cutesier side, but I could not stop watching this music vide...

Hey guys, it's me Erika.  Thanks for sticking with me on my semi-vacay from blogging!  I promise I'll soon be back to posting almost daily (I'm still posting on the  Facebook  page so check me there!) but in the meantime, I've got this really great post by my friend Leaf of  My Kpop Obsession   for you to read.  It's a continuation of her KCON 2013 fan accounts , and this time, instead of talking about the M! Countdown concert, she's written about her experience walking around and chatting with fellow fans of all ages and nationalities.  I thought it was extremely good and I had a lot of fun reading it, so I figured you would too.  Enjoy! KCON 2013 - THE EXPERIENCE In which Leaf went to KCON in a silly hat and ridonkulous sunglasses, but still managed to nerd-out with 20,000 other kpop lovers despite looking like a frumpy old lady...

Here's part 2 and 3 of Leaf 's  M! Countdown: What's Up L.A. concert fan account.   Check out part 1 here .  This fan account has been cross posted from Leaf's blog,  My Kpop Obsession .  Please be sure to take out with full credit. Internet, Let us continue... Teen Top 

When KCON 2013 was announced, I was dead set on not going.  I'd read all sorts of bad stuff about KCON 2012 and thought, "What could possibly change in a year?"  Next thing you know it was announced that G-Dragon would be showing up, as well as people like EXO and f(x) .  While I wouldn't fly across the country just to see EXO, I was pretty disappointed that I wouldn't get to see GD perform by himself (as well as shocked that he'd be attending KCON at all.  I mean, what??).  I also heard it was a lot of fun this year so... bummer. Well my fellow non-KCON attendees, I've got the next best thing: A detailed fan account of the M! Countdown: What's Up L.A.? concert by the incomparable Leaf of My Kpop Obsession .  She describes herself as "gripped by Kpop", which I'm sure we can all relate to.  Leaf's blog is a stream of consciousness type of thing that you only want to go to if you have a couple of hours to spare, and by that I me...

Stormy 's back with part 2 of her previous post about Taemin on We Got Married .  As usual, she's pissed off and wants everyone to know why.  Lol nah... she's not mad, she's just concerned.  Read on! This is a cross post from her blog  MyMusicRadar !  You can also visit Stormy at her tumblr site  Under The Radar! That Silly Little Sitcom " We Got Married " Starring SHINee's Taemin PART 2 Extreme Style! *Spoiler Alert* by StormofStarzZ2 I was really Really REALLY  mad  watching the 130519 episode of  We Got Married .  To the  extreme !  YES, Yes, yes I  KNOW  it's scripted; still nothing stops our magnificent maknae from speaking his mind!  We all know him well enough to see that many of his reactions are the real thing.  He never could hide his real feelings.

Stormy's got a bone to pick with netizens today, so she decided to write about it.  She's pretty annoyed, my friends... Take a look! This is a cross post from her blog MyMusicRadar !  You can also visit Stormy at her tumblr site Under The Radar! That Silly Little Sitcom 'We Got Married' Starring SHINee's Taemin Written by: StormofStarzz, MyMusicRadar!

Today's the last day of Guest Blogger Week on the blog and we started with a bang, so we're going out with a bang.  I'm bringing you a very strongly worded post from Line (aka Nani ) of Nancakes.org .  She's from Denmark but currently living in Seoul, South Korea (jealous!) and I met her through this blog because I posted a video of Shinee 's Key at Seoul Fashion Week here last year and she was in it.  How funny is that??  Nani is infamous for her rants about stuff, so I knew when I asked her that we'd be in for it. :)  She also blogs and vlogs about makeup and Kpop, amongst other things.  Just remember, if you don't like curse words, or are easily offended, don't read on.  Enjoy! Nani Rants About Kpop F ans Written by Nani of  Nancakes.org Let's start an argument among kpop fans, shall we? (just kidding... maybe ) I'm not really gonna talk about the crazy-ass nut job "fans", also known as the infamous "sasaeng ...

Guest Blogger Week continues with a post from my good chingu Stormy of Under the Radar! , who I've known for awhile.  In fact, she (along with Stephe of CloudUSA ) was instrumental in my decision to start blogging, so thanks guys! :hugs: Stormy is an avid music lover and die hard Shawol who got into Jpop in 2007, segued into Kpop in 2009 and hasn't looked back since.  Stormy started out writing for her blog   My Music Radar!  but has taken a brief hiatus from there for medical reasons and is currently blogging on her Tumblr  Under the Radar! .   She hopes to return to  My Music Radar!  soon, so look out for that. Idol Beauty and an Inconvenient Truth Written by Stormy of  Under the Radar

Day 3 of Guest Blogger Week is here and today I've got another fabulous blogger for you to meet.  Her name is La Shauna and she runs the site  Asia 24/7 .  She started the site in 2011 and it has slowly turned into a one stop site for all the things a Kpop fan looks for, from lyrics, to reviews, to news, and more.  La Shauna is here today to give you some of her thoughts on what life is like for idols after they leave the three biggest entertainment companies in Korea. Life After The Big Three Written by La Shauna of Asia 24/7 For any artists leaving their agency at the height of success can spell all kinds of trouble for their career. In Kpop we've seen artists, and agencies of all magnitudes go their separate ways. There’s rapper E.Via , now Tymee , who made a quiet split from her agency, Dline Media , due to lack of payment in 2012, and Hwayoung who was kicked out of T-ara and Core Contents Media causing one of the biggest controv...

It's Day 2 of Guest Blogger Week  on Oddness/Weirdness and today I bring you April from PinkFashionNinja.com .  This is what April has to say about herself: "I'm April from Kansas but unlike Dorothy I'm not wishing to get back home.  Currently residing in South Korea.  BoomShakaLaka" April blogs about Kpop and Kpop fashion, and since she lives in Korea you can count on her to give you the low down on the latest concerts and on how to get that Kpop style without breaking the bank.  You can also check out her vlogs on YouTube  for more of her unique viewpoint.  Read on for some of her thoughts: April's Two Cents Written by: April of  PinkFashionNinja.com First off a quick message: Hello everyone, My name is April aka The Pink Fashion Ninja and I run a fashion/kpop blog called the Pink Fashion Ninja .  I also Vlog about life in Korea!  I wanted to address something before I begin my Kpop rant. :D I’ve gotten a quite ...

It's  Guest Blogger Week  at Oddness/Weirdness!  I'm sure you're wondering what that entails, right? Well, a fellow blogger approached me about writing a post for her blog about something that I really feel strongly about in the world of Kpop.  I thought that was such a good idea that I decided to borrow it for my blog. I begged asked some of my awesome blogger friends to help me out and, surprisingly (and graciously), they said yes! These fabulous women are a super diverse bunch. They come from all walks of life and all have their own unique niche in the Kpop blogger world. I'm excited to present their posts for your enjoyment, and I hope you'll be as interested to read them as I was. You'll be missing out if you don't! The first post is written by Stephe of CloudUSA.org .  She's the co-founder of that site, as well as a power blogger, technical writer, Fine Fabrications Fiction Focus Group facilitator, fantasy & paranormal novelist, ...

By: Joan M. A recent article in a British newspaper pointed out that Korean men now wear a lot more makeup than they did a generation ago.  It has become more common for men to apply foundation and eyeliner before going out in the morning. I blame it all on the flower boys—not that I’m complaining. Actors such as Jang Geun Suk and singers such as G-Dragon regularly model for cosmetic and skin care companies, with the main selling point being their flower boy good looks. Jang Geun Suk for Nature Republic.

I finally convinced my friend Stormy of  UnderTheRadar! to write a new opinion piece , so it's time for Another Odd Opinion about B.A.P 's  Live on Earth Seoul concerts that took place on February 23 and 24.  Recently, we were discussing whether B.A.P had enough material and experience to throw a concert and, well... you'll see.  Check out Stormy's previous odd opinion here and be sure to leave us your thoughts on this one in the comments below.